(TFT) Re: TFT levels of magic

["Mack Brewer" <mbrewer@psphalifax.ns.ca>]

>Silas writes . . .
>
>>Heres a question for the group. As I map out the campaign I wish to
>>design for the group, a question has struck me. DO YOU PREFER HEAVY
>>MAGIC/FANTASY SETTINGS? Or do you enjoy settings that are low to mild
>>magic settings? Not that PC'S couldn't be wizards, but do you prefer an
>>environment with talking walls, magic goblins sprouting up from dung
>>hills, talking unicorns named Joe etc etc? Or do you like the setting
>>magic to be less FLOURESCENT as it were? A little more like a flovour in
>>a soup that you can't quite identify, but if it weren't there it would
>>suck?


I tend to ask my players at the very beginning of a campaign whether they
want
to play a HIGH FANTASY or a LOW FANTASY game.

LOW FANTASY: basic game
Basic run of the mill adventuring party with magic items being pretty rare
and magical creatures even more so. Party tends to get dragged into the
local political arena from time to time and may be tasked by the local Duke
or other nobles to handle something for them.  Mages are uncommon and
secretive
for the most past.

HIGH FANTASY: stuff of legends
More "Heroic" flavour to the game where the adventurers start with extra
points
and have much more affect on their surroundings, even when they don't want
it
to happen. Magic is common and weak magical weapons and armor are widespread
amongst the more Elite guardsmen and Ducal troops.  All militia units and
guard
units have mages in them and magical creatures are uncommon but not rare.
Party frequently gets in "over it's head" in tasks by Royalty or missions to
"save the village of ___" or eradicating a band of marauding Trolls or repel
an Orc invasion from the front lines.  Characters tend to aquire powerful
magic
items necessary to combat very powerful creatures as "Only they can save the
world
from the hideous evil bent on destroying it".

I'm over simplifying things a bit but they get my point across. Both games
will cross
over to the other style from time to time with the occasional Heroic deeds
needing done
in the Low Fantasy setting and possible long periods of boredom/minor
nuisances
in the High fantasy game but the general levels of threat are quite
different between the
two.

NOTE: In my current AD&D Campaign (yes I know, but I got brow-beat into it
by my
wife) the party of 7 characters levels 4-7 are currently "buffed" with magic
having been
loaned several items by the King's mage to help repel an Orc & Goblin
invasion being
directed by the temple of Ssett.  They encountered a long-lost tribe of
nomadic humans
and were over-run trying to defend a town fort against over 300 Orcs with
Ogre support
plus powerful shamans and mages. The thief had a "limited wish" in an item
and wished
all remaining defenders to safety but it got deflected by Ssett's
interaction and they ended
up in the middle of the northern lands his forces overwhelmed 2-3 years ago.
Their Deities are involved (via dream info and rewarding of stat increases
after major
battle victories) and the Elf ranger has tracked down and recovered the lost
artifact weapon
"The HeartBow of Loren" which was designed to help fight against Ssett.
unfortunately it's a "Ssett magnet" in that he's aware of it's presence and
can roughly
track the party. He's been throwing things at them to try and kill them off
and destroy the bow
and it's race to recover more anti-Ssett weaponry before he can surround
them and
over whelm them with his creatures. The heartbow told it's wielder they need
the
"Heartbow of Terron" and is directing them east to find it. The two bows
together generate
an area of "non-location" that can cloak them from Ssett's scrying and is
there only chance
to evade his armies marshalling against them.
(Party is also on first name basis with 4 dragons now and has already
met/fled from a Liche)

This is my version of a High Fantasy campaign where the characters are (or
may become)
the great Heroes of Legend I base my next campaign around. The campaign
covers 24 maps
on graph paper at roughly a days travel per square, 2.5 squares per inch.
All of it has been
mapped out and populated/run by me for over 18 years now and I have some
details down to
the individual names of castle guards for over 15 castles (thanks to my old
pbm game where
my buddies were all lords running their kingdoms)

I prefer to run High fantasy but have fun with either.

....long winded again, Damn!

Mack

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